Totally Delicious Tearooms - Middleport Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent

Superb. The guides on the factory tour were full of information (and quite a few laughs). Well worth the cost of £12 each . An excellent light lunch in the cafeteria, followed by a leisurely wander around the smaller shops and restored houses. Do it.

We sadly were too last minute to get on the factory tour but we booked onto the Heritage Trail. You gain access to additional areas of the site, including the bottle kiln and the old offices, where there is a ton of information about the history of Middleport. We were lucky enough to meet John, one of the volunteers, and my goodness what a legend of a man! He joined us for a few of the ‘stops’ on the trail and, as a Stoke local and someone who grew up working in numerous potteries in the town, was able to share so much about the history of the site, pottery process, and Stoke itself. Just a wonderful man with so many stories to share and we were so grateful for his insight! It’s a gorgeous old site with lots to learn. Would love to return to tour the factory!!

Went there for the craft market. Some talented people offering nice arty gifts. Many items very individual and bursting with colour. Some food stalls. Check out the folk selling savoury individual pies. We always buy some. Great value at £2.75 each. Plenty of off road parking and free. Access by stairs but a lift on site.

The pottery was fantastic, very interesting. Wouldn't recommend the mayo with a hint of tuna roll in the cafe.

We visited during half-term and really loved the galleries and chance to look around the pottery and participate in the ‘Play with Clay’ workshop! We would have appreciated some extra information on the website about bus routes from Stoke on Trent and Newcastle under Lyme (which are both cheap and regular) rather than just information for car drivers.

Truly a lovely day visiting the Middleport Pottery site, which is free to enter payment only required if you want a tour. A fantastic welcome from Jo on the front desk, who explained the factory tour or the heritage tour. Jo also told us of the many facilities and craft workshop around. We chose the Heritage tour and were able to take this at our own speed. Soaking up the most amazing collection of pottery, photography, written documents. Dogs are allowed in some areas and we were pleased to enjoy a wonderful traditional oatcakes in the The Packing House Cafe, with our dog. We were unable to see everything in the day, missed some of the craft shops sadly. But a reason to return.

A Lovely place to visit showing the history of Pottery making. Booked the self guided Heritage Trail walking around the different stages of Pottery making.

Absolutely beautiful, so much to see and buy !!! Coffee shop is fab and not too expensive. Will definitely be back

Brilliant place. As soon as we arrived a lovely man showed us where to go. He had a shop selling pine furniture. We went to the cafe, we only had drinks but the breakfasts looked delicious. We then purchased a tour ticket from a lovely lady who was so helpful and kind. The tour was great, a lady volunteer came to chat I don’t know her name, she had long auburn hair and was also lovely. The whole place was immaculate and beautifully restored. Everyone was so friendly. Would highly recommend and will definitely return in the summer months.

Lisa was so helpful to us food was excellent and amazing happy smiles all around but she was definitely amazing Will %1000 be coming back because of this experience

Save yourself stress and book elsewhere. Tried for hours to book tickets to be sent round in circles. It really should not be that difficult.

Amazing place to visit, lots of history, bottle kiln, cobbled street leading us to little shops, carpeter shop, photo shop etc it was like stepping back in time. Staff were very knowledgeable and helpful. The cafe was excellent,we had a full english breakfast and tea, this was served on the ware from the factory. The factory shop itself is also wonderful, full ranges of ware on display and was decorated beautifully with christmas decorations. This place is a credit to Stoke on Trent and it's history, we will definitely be going back!

Thank you for the fascinating tour! Mandy looked after us wonderfully. Highly recommended

It is an excellent cultural destination for everyone.

An absolute must go/ see if you're a lover or collector of English pottery of any age! It's a mix of factories that still operates today as well as museums with many hard to find old unique pieces to die for! Staff and volunteers are lovely and very knowledgeable and they love visitors, specially the kind and beautiful Margaret, she's a gem! After you're done seeing all the gorgeous things that are everywhere, there's is a cozy charming coffee shop with coffee, chocolate and food being served in real English China all locally made! You'll love your time spent there!

Fantastic place steeped in history, allow plenty of time to take it all in;

In the heart 💗 of Stoke-on-Trent - famous for porcelain lovers "The Potteries" 🫖 ▶️ Middleport Pottery, was built by Burgess & Leigh in the late nineteenth century. This Grade II*-listed pottery is the UK’s last working Victorian potbank in continuous production, and after 130 years remains home to world-famous Burleigh pottery that is all made here onsite. Wonderful place which even played in few movies & TV series like 'Peaky Blinders' just to name one most famous. Well worth a visit!

Excellent heritage experience. John the volunteer guide made it even more special, giving us a flavour of the industry from real experience. A great asset to the place.

Excellent heritage experience. John the volunteer guide made it even more special, giving us a flavour of the industry from real experience. A great asset to the place.

Born and bred in the Potteries but never visited a pottery before. The factory tour was brilliant, our guide John was great really bringing the place to life with his knowledge. Amazing to see the historical buildings and the highly skilled workforce still producing the wares today. A must see if visiting the area and for locals such as myself.

Born and bred in the Potteries but never visited a pottery before. The factory tour was brilliant, our guide John was great really bringing the place to life with his knowledge. Amazing to see the historical buildings and the highly skilled workforce still producing the wares today. A must see if visiting the area and for locals such as myself.

A gem in the heart of The Potteries

Worth a visit, good tour and place to eat as well

Excellent cafe and I can take the dog as well. Friendly staff

We had a fabulous tour thru Middleport Pottery this week when we visited Stoke-On--Trent. The appreciation level of Burleigh Ceramics definitely increased. Unlike most pottery that is made commercially today, Burleigh is still very hands on with all its processes. It is such a shame so many fine British companies either closed or moved production overseas to make cheaper.

Well worth a visit to see the victorian factory buildings and old machinery. They have a factory shop and cafe .

This is an excellent place to visit.The Heritage trail is a must for anyone interested in the history of the potteries, with the bonus that this pottery is still active. There's a fine tearoom and our only disappointment was that we had chosen to visit on a Bank Holiday when a factory tour was not possible. Highly recommended..A gem which deserves to survive,flourish and prosper.

A fascinating tour! We were lucky enough to have Rob as our guide, who got the balance of education and fun just right. Many thanks.

Basic food but great quality. Lovely pottery well worth the vist

Living in Stoke-on-Trent I have visited Middleport Pottery often, and having grown up in Melbourne, Australia, this place is the very essence of the Potteries as I grew up hearing about them... I have brought friends and visitors here, not only to enjoy the historic setting of the traditional potbank with it's bottle oven in the courtyard, but also to enjoy a meal in the cafe. It's a great meeting place, and a lovely spot to wander and for friends visiting from further afield, there are some lovely, hand-made pieces in the shops for them to take home as a quality souvenir of their trip. The cafe is lovely with it's rustic appearance enhanced by the decorations which have their roots in the patterns of the Burleigh ceramics which were once created on this very site. The food is always great quality and the coffee is top notch, which really matters to me! I highly recommend stopping here if you are visiting the area - and if you are a fan of Victorian period dramas, or the reality show, "The Great Pottery Throw Down" you have the knowlege that you are visiting a location which is often filmed for film and TV shows alike.

Really great place. Shame it's not visited by more people. It could be amazing. Must be bad management. It has such potential. Bad signage to get there. The little row of shops over the road were really good. Various shops, giid for gifts.

Beautiful pottery. Also beautiful tea towels of the pottery being made. Painting type style. Very classy looking.

Wonderful afternoon and lovely staff. Very informative and friendly.

A really great and interesting museum

It is worth coming here just for the cafe alone, which, unluckily for us, is precisely what happened, since by the time we arrived, the factory tour had sold out. But never mind! The pottery itself is located in very picturesque settings and very charming. It is impossible to leave the shop without buying some gorgeous potteryware. Just note that the sign posts for the pottery seem to run out in the last vital minutes of the journey. So be aware that it is located down some back streets.

A good place to buy from (look out for the artisan market), but given it's mainly self-guided, the history of the place was rather lost on us

Wonderful experience to see living history from my home town, all our family worked in the industry at some point, sadly little now remains of this highly skilled workforce. Long may these historic sites keep going.

Crockery made locally, designs are mostly historic, much more subdued designs and colours than Emma Bridgewater. Buildings are on a residential street near the canal. Also there's a very good cafe. Next time - our 3rd visit - we will take the self guided heritage tour. Even without, there's a lot to see down the alleys. We visited thanks to recommendations from Miranda Mills youtube channel

Lovely place to visit. Loved how the staff came out and approached you to give you some history.

Fab cafe. Lovely pot of tea with the most amazing homemade chips. Definitely worth another visit just for the chips.

Rob my tour guide was Absolutely superb a real informative and welcoming chap, nothing was too much trouble and was very enthusiastic as was the rest of the staff I encountered. I will be making trips to other areas of the potteries as my family are all stoke and pottery based so no doubt I'll see you again soon! Regards Matt the Wade collecting boat dweller 😂

An extremely well-organised part of the Heritage Trail. A most enjoyable group visit with both guides and video commentary. Sympathetically preserved, and still-working/producing World famous pottery. Great insight into both the manufacturing process and historical background. On-site facilities include numerous WC facilities, lifts to all public-access floors of the building, and a well-appointed café for snacks. Our group was supplied with a satisfying lunch, halfway through the visit. There are a number of artisanal outlets within the complex, and a factory shop as well. Step into yester-year and enjoy an informative and enlightening few hours in this wonderful amenity.

Really interesting spot if interested in pottery and canals!

Arrived at 3.10pm was going order hot food but kitchen closes at 3pm. This isn't mentioned on website. We had carrot cake and scone with hot drink and they were very nice

Nice place to spend a couple of hours, especially on a sunny day. Factory shop isn’t going to give you many bargains but the cafe is worth a trip on its own. Lots of interesting things to see, a tour would be a good idea. Parking available but it gets busy.

Middleport pottery factory tour was the high point of our holiday, thanks to our amazing guide Rob <3. I highly recommend visiting Middleport pottery.

Attended a porcelain casting workshop with Alex Allday. Great Day! Lunch at the Café was excellent. Middleport is an excellent place to visit.

Really impressed. Not just a pottery. We went for the Burleigh pots. Interesting and a good cafe. Will be going again, and not just because of the Burleigh.

We had a great day out. The experience was over and beyond our expectations, thanks to our extremely helpful and passionate tour guide, John. All the staff were very friendly and welcoming. It was really fascinating to learn and experience the history of pottery. The cafe was also excellent. Overall highly recommended.

Take a tour, it's well worth it. Very informative and educational.

Middleport Pottery Pottery started in 1888 and was featured in the Peaky Blinders. Home of Burleigh Pottery. Follow trails or join a factory tour. Even has a workers terraced house. Interesting place, worth a visit. Next time will do the factory tour.

We only had an hour to spare on a cold February afternoon and had only intended to visit the factory shop. But we discovered they have a self guided tour option so we took it and thoroughly enjoyed it. The offices and rooms you visit have interesting displays. We loved it when we walked into one office and an old fashioned phone rang. A voice on the other end prompts you to dial numbers shown against some exhibits for more info. Really good and engaging. Wished we had more time to enjoy the experience fully but we were happy with what we saw for the £6 fee (for over 65s)

They have very nice pottery and great offers in some nice products. Worthy to visit if you are in the area. The staff is kind and carefull when packing your items.

What a lovely experience. Came at a weird time so the shop was closed but we were able to do the heritage self guided tour. You get to see a bottle oven and all sorts of the tools used in the bottle oven. Some of the old equipment used was stored outside and is quite eroded but you can still tell what they were. Cute lil cafe on the grounds and some individual potters studios/galleries too! Great spot! Would recommend a visit!

We walked around the pottery shop, shame really they are lovely pieces but I think they are a bit on the expensive side, they should offer incentives so people buy more. Also went in the cafe and had a scone and mint hot chocolate with cream they were yummy. Will definitely go again.

Great local history location and loads to see, hear and learn about pottery manufacture, as well as the work of local craftspeople!

Amazing place, well worth a visit.

We were contacted to do filming regarding the oatcake this all took place in terraced house across from factory

Fab place even on a rainy day, short walk from train station. Burleigh pottery and other independent potteries to explore and the cafe.

Thank you for this wonderful afternoon tea experience, the lady’s that served us where friendly , charming and extremely professional, it made our visit a special occasion, we came all the way from France . Thank you again 5⭐️definitely earned .

Very good history and excellent cafe

É um dos meus locais de eleição em Stoke On Trent. O bar restaurante é óptimo principalmente para lanche ou pequeno-almoço e as lojas de cerâmica no espaço são visita obrigatória para conhecer a História da cidade.

I brought my disabled wheelchair bound sister to the Christmas fair on Sat. Your disabled access by the main door is unacceptable, ok the ramp is there but the rough stones you have to cross to get to it is awful, then the entrance to the door is difficult, 2 channels to pass over. Then to cap it all we couldn't access the Fair because the lift was out of order. So we spent our money elsewhere. I challenge you, but you won't, to put someone heavy in a wheel chair, and try to enter your show room. A disapointment all round.

Excellent museum, lots to see and do, cafe very popular and busy so be prepared to wait

Transported back in time Great experience

Lovely Pottery with a shop and tour.

This place is great, and Keith is very knowledgeable and we enjoyed taking home a souvenir, wish you had magnets.

A beautiful and unique setting for a wedding

A must on any historic and contemporary pottery tour of The Potteries

Excellent tour of this important and historic pottery. Still producing tons of great work for high-profile designers. Gift shop is very expensive, relative to the price of some vintage pieces, but a great way to support a great business. Do buy tickets in advance for the pottery tour. Please also check out the Ceramic College down the lane - a great shop with excellent pieces by the students and a really friendly staff. Much more contemporary but very high quality items with a good selection of Goldmark dvd’s as well.

A very fascinating & popular guided tour at Middleport Pottery in Burslem, near Stoke-on-Trent. Our tour guide was Tony who had excellent knowledge. A brief history of the rise & fall of pottery making in the Potteries area was followed by a guided tour of the factory to see pottery being made, fired, painted & finished. You will also discover the history of the site & see one of the few brick kilns still in existence, but no longer in use! Need to book timed tours in advance online. There is also an onsite optional self guided heritage trail (no need to book in advance) which includes going into the brick kiln, plus also inside an early 1950's house, furnished as it would have been then, with descriptive voice overs. There is a cafe onsite & free parking. Good lunch choices reasonably priced. Busy on the day we went.

A little underwhelmed to be honest. Had a nice cup of soup and toasty at the cafe. Found the rest to be a bit confusing. We didn't purchase any tickets and I have no idea how much they cost or where you get them. Better signage would help.

It's a wonderful place to go and learn about the potteries. I recommend anyone to go and experience it

Fantastic day. Really interesting and historical visit.

An unexpectedly interesting visit. An insight into pottery life as it was lived. Also enjoyed the cafe.

Chris gave us a wonderful tour of this amazing historic pottery.

Absolutely fantastic. So interesting.

When you pay over £10 for a soft drink and a roll you expect decent quality instead we got very tasteless cheese ( should have been extra tasty )and really runny chutney with wilted lettuce , a half slice of cucumber and a pinch of onion it’s not good , if your going to charge extortionate prices at least use quality ingredients

Pre booked fruit 17 for buffet lunch. It was all laid out in spacious upstairs room. Food was delicious and plentiful, excellent value fir money.

Have visited this little cafe twice. Service can be a little slow, but friendly. Coffee and breakfast sandwich always nice. The best place to eat if you are touring the local pottery museums/shops.

Had been the day before and really enjoyed it, nice coffee, lovely staff and good cake. So we decided to visit again after an afternoon of walking knowing it was open until 4. However the staff were so desperate to go they'd packed up around customers already there and told us there was no cake. Won't be going back.

Went for lunch with my daughter and grandchildren. I was able to reserve a table without problem. When we arrived the staff were polite and helpful and the service was good. We had lobby which was delicious, sausage sandwich, which came on a very large soft bap, again delicious and home made chips. Will definitely be returning and would absolutely recommend.

Myself and my husband went for breakfast. It's was delicious. The service was really good. It's such a lovely place to visit.

Amazing place to visit and spend time

Heating on high building to hot and lacked airflow Friendly people

Absolutely beautiful place, lots of places was out of bounds sadly but really enjoyed my visit

Lovely place to visit if your after a nice piece of craft work/pottery or gift for someone.

Never been. No idea what it's like

Great place to go But don't go the cafe for food over price microwave food 😕

What an interesting place to visit. The staff are knowledgable, enthusiastic and very welcoming. I will certainly come back when the new area is open!

Rather expensive on the face of it, however there is plenty to look at if you pay to see the areas that are not on the free version of the visit. The free version gives access to much of the site and all the outside areas. Lovely cafe and delicious cakes.

Well worth a visit. Shop as well as the history of the factory. Little artisan shops dotted around worth popping in.

Adore this place! Can't wait to return

Lovely history preserved really well and nice food at the café

Had a lovely few hours walking around this historic pottery, lots of little businesses to see and explore. Oh and a lovely café near the canal , great for a refuelling stop ... Great place to stroll around ..recommend you visit this historic gem.

We did both the heritage walks and a guided tour (sign for a years membership, its cheaper plus discount in the cafe and shop). both are very interesting but the guided tour even more so as that takes you around the actual working factory explaining the process as they make the pottery in front of you. the guide was a local with intimate knowledge of the site as well. to top it all off, the cafe served very nice cake.

As well as selling Burleigh ceramics, this pottery has some interesting displays about how the items are made and a small cafe upstairs.

Visited yesterday for the first time in a few months and really disappointed. The printed paper menu was crinkled and dirty. Tuna sandwich was a roll with very little tuna, what used to be lovely home made chips are now fries and side salad consisted of a few rocket leaves and 2 tiny slices of tomato. Our other selections not very appetising. Family at the next table left an awful mess on the floor and left without telling anyone but it was noticed and still left on the floor for 30 minutes. Did hear that it was under new management, if so then hopefully this is not a sign of things to come.

Beautiful ceramics that I hadn't appreciated until this visit. The tour was very interesting, and it is good to see that after more than 100 years they are still being created

Top marks. Lovely place to visit.